A man aged 63 has been taken to hospital after a fire at his home on Sunday morning.
Emergency services were called to the Prospect Park area of Portstewart after 1am on January 16.
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service believe the Co Derry fire was started by a “discarded cigarette”.
A spokesperson for the NIFRS said: “The Fire Service was called to a fire in the Burnside area of Portstewart just after 1am this morning.
“Fire crews from Portstewart and Coleraine stations arrived at the scene of a bungalow well alight.
“The occupier has self-rescued and was found at the front door suffering from smoke inhalation.
“The Ambulance Service treated the 63-year-old man and he was taken to hospital. Fire crews entered the building wearing breathing apparatus and extinguished the fire with jets.
“We believe the fire to have started in the front living room due to a discarded cigarette.”
They continued: “We would strongly encourage anyone over the age of 50 to get a free home fire safety check and we do fit smoke alarms free of charge if they are required.
“This man has an extremely lucky escape as he had no working smoke alarm and a neighbour alerted the fire service.”
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